I say that because, since the excellent "re-imagining" of the craptastic '70s scifi series hit the air, we expect the remakes of our favorite shows to be darker, more layered, and more complicated than the originals. But sometimes, going darker doesn't always work: take a look at the failure pile that passed for the Bionic Woman remake as the best example of that. So, when a "25 years later" return of Knight Rider was announced, I half wondered if they were going to go the BSG route and make it all serious. But I equally wondered if they would go the other way and make it a modern camp classic, sort of the way the original, Hoff-injected series was.

Turns out, the answer was "none of the above." Mostly the movie / backdoor pilot that aired last night was dull, with a few fleeting moments of camp thrown in. But it never made me clamor for the show to return as a series.

Can you believe that Ford actually created a convertible in the 1950s with a system that was so easy to use even a woman could operate it? No, kidding, an honest to goodness woman. Anyway, that's the premise of this retro commercial featuring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz of I Love Lucy. Apparently women didn't develop the basic motor skills needed to push a button until the latter half of the 20th century. You gotta love the whole atavistic vibe of the ad, from Ricky telling Lucy she's better suited to taking ice cubes out of the freezer to the salesman only addressing Ricky and not even acknowledging Lucy. Check out the clip after the jump.

Yesterday on AdJab, I complained that Kelly Clarkson's catchy new song for Ford's "Bold Moves" campaign, "Go", was infiltrating my brain and settling in like a mooching brother-in-law. I thought I could get rid of it by listening to the sound of brick being scraped by nail or any Yoko Ono CD. But then kindly commenter Steve passed along a link to a new page on the Ford web site where you can listen to a stream of the full version of the song. (Just go here and click "Go").

Against my better judgement, I went over and clicked on the stream. The damn song is even catchier than I thought. Now it's in my head for-freakin-ever. Thanks, Steve, wherever you are. I'll see you in hell.

Today, Ford launches a new line of commercials featuring American Idol winner Taylor Hicks. He'll be singing 'Possibilities' to promote what Ford is calling its "year-end" sales event even though it's only June. This press release includes a statement from Taylor Hicks that makes me think he has suddenly become a tool, "I'm thrilled to be given a chance to perform it [Possibilities] as part of the Ford family." Hmmm... I wonder who gets more money out of that deal: American Idol or Taylor?

Anyway, I listed five of my favorite television appearances by presidents in puppet or animated form. Hail to the
chief and all that. If you think of others, please share. Taft would have wanted it that way.